Phaser Lock Interactive was one of the first studios to embrace VR with the release of its HTC Vive and Oculus Rift game, Final Approach. Today, the studio is announcing what’s next.
Phaser Lock has received investment from Smilegate, a game studio based in Korea, as part of a new long-term partnership. A figure for the investment was not disclosed. Smilegate will continue to invest in the studio as it plots a path to grow over the next few years.
Together, the pair will work on a new VR game that Smilegate will be publishing and distributing. The game itself hasn’t actually been announced yet but Phaser Lock is promising updates “in the coming months.” In a prepared statement, Phaser Lock CEO Michael Daubert said the studio would use the partnership to create “a best-in-show experience nobody has been a part of before.”
Smilegate previously invested some $40 million in Starbreeze to work on its StarVR headsets that now feature in IMAX VR centers. The studio has previously released competitive online games like Crossfire as well as mobile games, though hasn’t developed its own VR game so far. The team’s Crossfire, for example, is an online FPS that is hugely popular in Asian markets with more than 400 million registered users.
The news comes not too far from the release of Phaser Lock’s second game, Twisted Arrow. It allowed players to become an expect archer, a little like Hawkeye from The Avengers. We described it as “intense and fun” when we first got our hands on it.
Look for updates from Phaser Lock in the near future.
